Connect GitHub Copilot in VS Code

What this is: add Bill & Ben to Copilot Chat in Visual Studio Code. Who it is for: developers using VS Code with GitHub Copilot.

Who can use it

Anyone with VS Code and Copilot. On Copilot Business and Enterprise your organisation controls MCP servers with a policy called MCP servers in Copilot. It is off by default. On Copilot Free and Pro that policy does not apply. Your account also needs the Bill & Ben permission gateway.connect (permissions).

What an admin must do

• On Copilot Business or Enterprise, a GitHub admin turns on MCP servers in Copilot. For an enterprise it is under AI controls, then MCP. For one organisation it is under Settings, Copilot, Policies, Features.
• Give developers the Bill & Ben permissions.

Steps (guided)

1. Open the Command Palette and run MCP: Add Server.
2. Choose HTTP.
3. Enter the address https://ai.<brand>/mcp and the name bb.
4. Choose where to save it: this workspace or your user profile.
5. VS Code asks you to sign in. A browser opens. Sign in with your company account and choose Allow.
6. Open Copilot Chat, switch to Agent mode, open the tools list and check the Bill & Ben tools are there.

Steps (by hand)

Create .vscode/mcp.json in your project, or open your user file with MCP: Open User Configuration:

{
  "servers": {
    "bb": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://ai.<brand>/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Then choose Start above the entry.

With a personal access token

Create a token (see the overview). Do not write it into the file. Let VS Code ask for it:

{
  "inputs": [
    { "id": "access-token", "type": "promptString", "description": "Bill & Ben token", "password": true }
  ],
  "servers": {
    "bb": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://ai.<brand>/mcp",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer ${input:access-token}" }
    }
  }
}

What you can do

All the tools on the overview. Copilot asks before it runs a tool the first time.

If it goes wrong

You see	What to do
The server does not appear or is blocked	Your organisation's MCP servers in Copilot policy is off. Ask a GitHub admin.
Sign-in does not start	Run MCP: List Servers, choose bb, then Show Output and read the last lines.
Browser sign-in fails with a return-address error	Bill & Ben accepts the desktop and the vscode.dev return addresses. Ask your Bill and Ben contact, or use a personal token.
Sign-in page says Not on your organisation's list	Your admin must add you.
"your organisation has not given you gateway access"	Ask for gateway.connect.

Disconnect

1. Run MCP: List Servers, choose bb and stop or remove it. Delete its entry from mcp.json too.
2. Run Authentication: Remove Dynamic Authentication Providers and pick Bill & Ben.
3. In the Accounts menu choose Manage Trusted MCP Servers and remove it. MCP: Reset Trust resets all.

To cut access at once, ask your admin to remove your gateway.connect permission, and revoke any personal token on the tokens page.